Redbox Instant: No TV shows, way fewer movies

Coinstar (s CSTAR) CEO Paul Davis has revealed a few more details about the video subscription service that his company’s Redbox unit is going to launch together with Verizon (s VZ) later this year, and it sounds… well, eclectic. The service, which is officially called Redbox Instant by Verizon, will focus on quality over quantity, Davis told Fast Company this week, which quotes him saying:

“Do you really need 100,000 titles? I mean, really?”

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Davis said that he doesn’t want to compete with Netflix (s NFLX) on catalog size, but rather have an HBO Go-like approach with fewer titles that matter more. Except you probably won’t see many TV shows on Redbox Instant either, as Davis hinted at movies being the core focus.

Of course Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has been comparing his own company to HBO for a long time, and used that analogy to justify massive investments into original and exclusive content. Coinstar quickly realized that it couldn’t match those investments on its own, which is why the company partnered with Verizon, Davis said.

Redbox Instant by Verizon is currently doing an invite-only alpha test, and is scheduled to launch before the end of the year. Pricing and possible tie-ins with Redbox DVD rentals are still unannounced.